I did a (bad) thing

As is clearly evident in my last post, I am going insane from the fact that while I've been doing a lot of petting of horses and caring for horses, it's been too damn cold to be motivated (or willing to risk my fingers and toes) to ride them. When I was younger, I feel I was tougher - or at least more oblivious - and happily took lessons all winter outside, though I was lucky to have a dad who always had hand or toe warmers in his pockets, and who worked hard to keep me warm and happy while doing what I loved. It's endlessly frustrating to stare out the windows at my horses and have nothing I want more than to go for a ride, but because winter sucks, the last month or so has been spent in a deep freeze. 

I wrote about my memorable outdoor rides on one of the days where we got above 20 degrees, and felt powerless. My horses are getting more out of shape (because at least my thoroughbreds don't seem to get fat) and more and more feral, and there's nothing I can do about it. Neither of the two in work are in a mental place to hack safely (especially alone - they might be ok with a steady lead, but we don't have a steady lead), and the few days of warmer weather we had turned back to cold quickly, but not before it rained for 12 hours before the temps dropped back down, so we've got ice under what is now two fresh layers of snow. 

So here I am, as bad tempered and whiny as ever.

And to deal with that boredom, I've been doing a lot of online... perusing. Because when you have a friend with some saddle money who keeps talking about wanting a monoflap, you shop.

And when a monoflap you've seen on Craigslist (wondering if the owner would let you trial it) shows up at the local tack shop that does let you trial saddles, you go a bit crazy. 

So like a crazy person, I made a spur decision on Saturday and ran down to the tack shop to sit in the saddle (after busting in the door 45 minutes to close with my Vision in hand, asking if I can set it on their dummy because I need to compare) and with 15 minutes to go before close, I pulled out of their parking lot with said coveted monoflap out on loan. And on Sunday, when my lovely friend J came to see the new farm resident, chit chat and pick up her stuff (I forgot to give her a very belated Christmas present, fail!) I basically kidnapped her and forced her to come with me to the indoor so I could have someone to call 911 if/when Arya put me in the rafters.

I'm an asshole, so what?

And then, when we got there (it was snowing, so I drove extra grandma like) none of my girths worked. At all. Not even close. I ended up borrowing a girth from N, who owns said indoor, and happens to have a handful of small ponies, who obviously wear small girths. We ended up using a 44" girth, which was still too big, but ok-ish enough that I felt safe enough to swing a leg over my horse. Also, because when you do crazy things like kidnap friends and haul horses in the  start of snow storms, you get on and ride the damn horse in the fancy ass saddle. 

And I hate to say it, but I was rewarded for doing lots of badly planned, badly prepared for things. Because Arya was perfect. There was no leaping, or rearing, or bucking. There was no bolting. (I feel like I'm Dr. Seuss here) or noping the f out of anything. We lunged before I tacked her up, and I could hardly get her to canter. And the worst "thing" she did under saddle was get behind my leg and need to be chased up at the canter because she kept dying out on me. 

And I think, maybe, I've been blaming a bitchy horse for something that isn't 100% her fault. Because it's been so cold, I haven't looked at a saddle on her back without pads in some time. Things fit her well enough when she arrived this summer... but she has grown. So after said starry-eyed ride, I brought the monoflap down with me do to chores so I could look at it without pads. 

And then, because science, I grabbed the Vision dressage saddle I've been using because I didn't think the wider Vision jump saddle fit her well: 

While it's not glaringly awful, it is a lot tighter through the shoulder and while I wouldn't call it "rock", the rear panels don't make great contact (you can see it hovering). Of course this makes me all kinds of anxious... but I guess I'll have to try and fit in another ride before the monoflap goes back to the store. 

In the mean time, is anyone in the market for a very pretty AP / Dressage saddle?